''Mighty Max'' is an animated action/ horror television series created by Mark Zaslove and Rob Hudnut based on the British Mighty Max toys, an outgrowth of the

Polly Pocket Polly Pocket is a toy line of inch-tall dolls and accessories sold by Mattel. The line was founded and designed by Chris Wiggs in 1983 and was first sold to the public in 1989. Between 2012 and 2018, it was not sold in the US in 2012 and decli ...

line created by

Bluebird Toys Bluebird Toys plc was a British toy company. They were responsible for the Polly Pocket brand, Havok wargame and Disney Tiny Collection. The company's previous toy lines included Manta Force, Oh Penny!, the British version of Oh Jenny! from Mat ...

in 1992. The series originally aired in syndication as part of a children's

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

titled Amazin' Adventures, premiering on September 1, 1993 and ending on December 2, 1994 with a total of 40 episodes over the course of 2 seasons.

Plot

The series follows Max, an adventurous teenage boy who receives in the mail a small statue of a

fowl Fowl are birds belonging to one of two biological orders, namely the gamefowl or landfowl ( Galliformes) and the waterfowl ( Anseriformes). Anatomical and molecular similarities suggest these two groups are close evolutionary relatives; toget ...

, inscribed with

Egyptian hieroglyphs Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined Ideogram, ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct char ...

whereof the translation states: "You have been chosen to be the cap-bearer. Go to the mini-mart and wait for a sign, Mighty Max". Shocked by the message, Max drops the statue, shattering it and revealing a red baseball cap emblazoned with a yellow "M", which he dons. The cap is capable of projecting

wormhole A wormhole is a hypothetical structure that connects disparate points in spacetime. It can be visualized as a tunnel with two ends at separate points in spacetime (i.e., different locations, different points in time, or both). Wormholes are base ...

-like "portals" through which Max can teleport across

space and time In physics, spacetime, also called the space-time continuum, is a mathematical model that fuses the three dimensions of space and the one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional continuum. Spacetime diagrams are useful in visualizing ...

. Upon arriving at the mini-mart, Max is chased by a

lava Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

-monster sent by antagonist ' Skullmaster'. As Max flees, the cap teleports them to the

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

n desert, where he befriends Virgil, a nearly

omniscient Omniscience is the property of possessing maximal knowledge. In Hinduism, Sikhism and the Abrahamic religions, it is often attributed to a divine being or an all-knowing spirit, entity or person. In Jainism, omniscience is an attribute that any ...

Lemurian whose appearance is that of an

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...

"fowl" (a

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...

in the series is that Max refers to Virgil as a "chicken" to which the Lemurian replies "Fowl, actually"), who explains that Max's reception of the cap was prophesied c. 3000 B.C. Thereafter Max, Virgil, and Norman, his

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

bodyguard, travel together around the world, defending

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

against the minions of Skullmaster, who is responsible for the downfall of the Lemurians. Norman is supposedly

immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

and identified as or with

Sir Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), alternatively written as Launcelot and other variants, is a popular character in the Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. He is typically depicted as King Arthur's close companio ...

Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...

Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

, and

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

. Most plot-driving episodes involve Skullmaster or one of his monstrous followers, but in many episodes, Max is required to stop an independent

villain A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...

. While all episodes involve travel across

, one involves time travel, and the portal can even extend into the

astral plane The astral plane, also called the astral realm, or the astral world, or the soul realm, or the spirit realm, is a plane of existence postulated by classical, medieval, oriental, esoteric, and New Age philosophies and mystery religions.G. R. S. ...

(as seen in the episode " Souls of Talon"). While generally lighthearted and comical, the show's violence and descriptions of violent acts were considered excessive by some viewers. Many episodes began with a depiction of the story's principal monster killing a victim, whereas the

series finale A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, ...

featured Max, Norman, and Virgil pitted against Skullmaster and their previously defeated foes. Both Norman and Virgil are killed, leaving Max to defeat Skullmaster. Unable to do so, Max uses the cap in order to time travel to the events of the first episode, creating a time paradox. At first, he experiences ''déjà vu'', but after he reads Virgil's modified letter, he recalls everything, and decides to use the knowledge he gained from the initial timeline to set it right in order to defeat Skullmaster once and for all.

Educational epilogues

In all episodes, a short ending scene preludes the credits, wherein Max is shown at his desk in his room, where he discusses with the audience some aspect of the episode in an educational way (similar to other children's cartoon series, including ''

The Magic School Bus ''The Magic School Bus'' is an American edutainment media franchise which includes a book series, TV adaptations, a streaming series, and various video games. Each of the stories within the franchise focuses on the antics of the fictional ...

''), usually the location where the events took place, the type of monster that was fought, etc. Occasionally, Max is shown in another setting such as a

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

, or is simply heard recorded on an

answering machine An answering machine, answerphone, or message machine, also known as telephone messaging machine (or TAM) in the United Kingdom, UK and some Commonwealth countries, ansaphone or ansafone (from a trade name), or telephone answering device (TAD), ...

(such as "Armageddon Outta Here", the

), but these sequences were not broadcast on some channels, such as the British terrestrial airings on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

(though included on the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

airings). Generally, the educational messages at the end of each episode were of scientific, historical, or cultural significance (for example, the mythology of another culture; new astronomical theories of the time; the biology of a

giant squid The giant squid (''Architeuthis dux'') is a species of deep-ocean dwelling squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, ...

; or the fact that

Native Americans Native Americans or Native American usually refers to Native Americans in the United States. Related terms and peoples include: Ethnic groups * Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the pre-Columbian peoples of North, South, and Central America ...

were first believed to be Indians by European explorers). In addition to the epilogue, facts are unobtrusively given in show, often by Virgil's comment.

Characters

Heroes

* Max (voiced by

Rob Paulsen Robert Frederick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor and voice director, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Pro ...

) is the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a ...

of the series: a rambunctious, clever, and blond teen empowered, through a series of adventures, to protect the signature cap that enables travel through various places. Max sometimes claims reluctance to retain this role, but Virgil and the cap leave him with little choice. * Virgil/Narrator (voiced by

Tony Jay Tony Jay (2 February 1933 – 13 August 2006) was a British actor. A former member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he was known for his voice work in radio, animation, film, and video games. Jay was particularly noted for his distinctive raspy ...

) – Virgil, a fowl-like humanoid, is the last living Lemurian and Max's

mentor Mentorship is the patronage, influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the perso ...

. He is over ten thousand years old, and knowledgeable of both past and future, but often frustrated by Max's carefree ways (which include teasingly calling Virgil a "chicken") and frequently reminded of having mentored Skullmaster, who consequently destroyed his people later on. Virgil would often send unusual messages to Max on where to go in order to get taken through a portal to meet up with him. * Norman (voiced by

Richard Moll Charles Richard Moll (January 13, 1943 – October 26, 2023) was an American actor known for playing Aristotle Nostradamus "Bull" Shannon, a bailiff on the NBC sitcom ''Night Court'' from 1984 to 1992. Moll also voiced Harvey Dent/Two-Face in t ...

as an adult,

Jason Marsden Jason Christopher Marsden (born January 3, 1975) is an American actor, director and producer, who has done numerous voice roles in animated films, as well as various television series and video games. He is best known for his voice roles as the ...

as a child) is Max's bodyguard who, after failing to prevent his father's defeat, vowed to become the greatest warrior that ever lived (

cf. The abbreviation cf. (short for either Latin or , both meaning 'compare') is generally used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. However some sources offer differing or even contr ...

" Norman's Conquest"). After a lifetime of battle, Norman was appointed by Virgil to his current role. He earned his

immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some species possess "biological immortality" due to an apparent lack of the Hayflick limit. From at least the time of the Ancient Mesopotamian religion, ancient Mesopotamians, there has been a con ...

by defeating the Conqueror, an undefeated champion, and swore to defend the Mighty One with his life if necessary (cf. "Dawn of the Conqueror"). As the Mighty One's bodyguard, Norman is usually serious but, unlike Virgil, seems to enjoy Max's carefree ways. Norman's exploits through the ages were the basis of numerous legends, including those of

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), alternatively written as Launcelot and other variants, is a popular character in the Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend's chivalric romance tradition. He is typically depicted as King Arthu ...

, and

Little John Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. He is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, alo ...

. Norman is shown throughout the series to be fearless, but not above disgust and has a fear of spiders. It is hinted in the final episode that he may have finally met his match in combat and died at the hands of an enormous spider. His common

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

is, "I eat for breakfast", usually naming his enemy. Another is the wry statement made upon meeting one of the many monsters they encounter, "That is a big . He and the title character's names may be a reference to famed UK-based record producer

Max Norman Max Norman is a British record producer and recording engineer active since 1973. He produced many acclaimed heavy metal releases. While Norman was resident engineer at Ridge Farm Studios in London, Ozzy Osbourne was recording his debut sol ...

Allies

* Max's Mother (voiced by

Tress MacNeille Teressa Claire "Tress" MacNeille (; born June 20, 1951) >https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/macneille-tress-1951 is an American voice actress, who has contributed to voice-over work with credits including vo ...

) is a blonde

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

who works for the local museum. She often travels all over the world and usually leaves Max to his own devices. More than once Max has had to rescue her, but despite misgivings, she and Virgil often have historical discussions and she is one of the few people who can out-talk Virgil. * Bea (voiced by

Kath Soucie Kath Soucie (, ). is an American voice actress, known for voicing Phil, Lil and their mother Betty DeVille in '' Rugrats'', Lola Bunny in the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise, Fifi La Fume and Li'l Sneezer in ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', Maddie Fent ...

) is one of Max's two best friends. Bea is an intelligent young girl who has assisted and sometimes rescued Max. Level-headed and cool under pressure, she often balances Max's exuberance with a more intellectual approach. * Felix (voiced by

Corey Burton Corey Burton is an American voice actor. He is the current voice of Captain Hook, Ludwig Von Drake and others for The Walt Disney Company, Shockwave on '' The Transformers'', Brainiac in the DC Animated Universe, Count Dooku and Cad Bane in ...

) is Max's friend who takes Max's new heroism in stride. Felix has assisted Max on numerous occasions, but usually gets left behind when the adventure starts, only to be relied upon thereafter. * Thor is Max's pet

green iguana The green iguana (''Iguana iguana''), also known as the American iguana or the common green iguana, is a large, arboreal, mostly Herbivory, herbivorous species of lizard of the genus ''Iguana''. Usually, this animal is simply called the iguana. ...

and loyal companion. During Max's first encounter with antagonist Dr. Zygote, Thor was "devolved" into a

dinosaur Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic Geological period, period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the #Evolutio ...

and ended up rescuing Max from Zygote's ''

Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It live ...

''-like "Mutosaurus" (as seen in " Zygote's Rhythm"). Later, Max "devolved" Thor back into his usual, pocket-sized self.

Villains

* Skullmaster (voiced by

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the musical film '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London, 1974 L ...

) is the main

of the series and the nemesis of the Mighty One. Skullmaster is an ancient warrior/

sorcerer Sorcerer may refer to: Magic * Sorcerer (supernatural), a practitioner of magic that derives from supernatural or occult sources * Sorcerer (fantasy), a fictional character who uses or practices magic that derives from supernatural or occult sou ...

whose lust for power has driven him to destroy the Lemurians. Afterwards, Skullmaster was imprisoned in the Underworld after the final battle with Max's predecessor Maximus where he took command of the inhabitants there. During the second season, Skullmaster is freed to roam the Earth itself and seeks to control the universe. ** Warmonger (voiced by

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...

) is a demon and Skullmaster's errand runner. Cruel and sadistic, he briefly showed ambition when he tried to kill Skullmaster in the episode "I, Warmonger", but found himself ignorant of what to do with his newfound power and position. The death of Skullmaster proved to be a ruse and Skullmaster himself was proud of Warmonger for showing such deviousness and plans to reward him later. ** Double-Headed Dragon is a double-headed dragon that serve Skullmaster. ** Giant Crabs - a race of large crabs that serve Skullmaster. ** Rock Monsters – a race of rock monsters that serve Skullmaster. ** Skeleturtles – a race of skeletal turtles that serve Skullmaster. * Lava Lord (voiced by Frank Welker) is the previous ruler of Underworld, dethroned and sealed in solid rock by Skullmaster. At the beginning of season 2, Lava Lord was freed and recovered the allegiance of the Lava Beasts. He planned to destroy Skullmaster with a giant robot called Magus. Though Lava Lord has no love for humans, his hatred for Skullmaster has caused him to align with Max on more than one occasion. ** Magus is a giant lava-powered robot working for Lava Lord who treated it like his own son. ** Lava Beasts are a race of creatures of molten rock that served Lava Lord until his defeat by Skullmaster. The Lava Beasts were later restored to Lava Lord. * Cyberskull (voiced by

Danny Goldman Daniel Goldman (October 30, 1939 – April 12, 2020) was an American actor and casting director. He was the voice of Brainy Smurf in Hanna-Barbera's '' The Smurfs'' (1981–1989). Early life Goldman graduated from Far Rockaway High School in ...

) – Marlin Curt is a programmer who merged with a

computer virus A computer virus is a type of malware that, when executed, replicates itself by modifying other computer programs and Code injection, inserting its own Computer language, code into those programs. If this replication succeeds, the affected areas ...

and discovered that he can alter reality and become electricity. He plotted revenge on the founder of ''MegaCorp'' for stealing his ideas. Cyberskull later returned to create a physical body for himself. * Professor Eggbert Zygote (voiced by

Kenneth Mars Kenneth Mars (April 4, 1935 – February 12, 2011) was an American actor. He appeared in two Mel Brooks films: as the deranged Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind in '' The Producers'' (1967) and Police Inspector Hans Wilhelm Friedrich Kemp in '' Youn ...

) is a

mad scientist The mad scientist (also mad doctor or mad professor) is a stock character of a scientist who is perceived as "mad, bad and dangerous to know" or "insanity, insane" owing to a combination of unusual or unsettling personality traits and the unabas ...

with plans to manipulate evolution. In his first appearance in "Zygote's Rhythm", he developed a machine that devolved reptilian life to their dinosaur forms. Max unintentionally evolves him into a form with a large brain. Zygote escapes into the sea following the fight. In "Zygote Music", Zygote has mastered the psychic abilities that came with his new form. He captures a telepathic boy whom he believes to be the key to human evolution. He is "defeated" when he evolves into a being of pure consciousness, losing interest in "such primitive concepts as good and evil". * Arachnoid (voiced by

René Auberjonois René Marie Murat Auberjonois ( ; June 1, 1940 – December 8, 2019) was an American actor and voice actor, known for playing Odo on '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999) and Clayton Endicott III on '' Benson'' (1980–1986). He firs ...

) – Dr. Stanley Kirby is a scientist who was mutated into the half-

spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...

Arachnoid. * Talon (voiced by

David Warner David or Dave Warner may refer to: Sports * Dave Warner (strongman) (born 1969), Northern Ireland strongman competitor * David Bruce Warner (born 1970), South African alpine skier * David Warner (cricketer) (born 1986), Australian cricketer Othe ...

) is a giant skull-like entity that feeds on the souls of the living. He requires Mighty Max's cap to escape from the

into our dimension. In "Armageddon Outta Here", Skullmaster uses Talon to carry a message to Max to show up at Stonehenge or else he will kill Virgil. * Fuath is a gigantic clockwork stone golem that was created by a sect of druids to plan revenge on humanity. Max, Virgil, and Norman were able to defeat Fuath by taking out the crystal that powered it. In "Armageddon Outta Here", Skullmaster summons Fuath to fight Lava Lord and Magus.

Episodes

Season 1 (1993)

Season 2 (1994)

Voice cast

as Max, Alien Leader (in "Sirius Trouble"), Kali Worshipper (in "Good Golly Ms. Kali") *

as Virgil, Witch Doctor (in "The Mother of All Inventions"), Norman's Dad (in "Norman's Conquest"), Cameron (in "Werewolves of Dunneglen") *

as Norman *

as Skullmaster,

Jules Verne Jules Gabriel Verne (;''Longman Pronunciation Dictionary''. ; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet and playwright. His collaboration with the publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel led to the creation of the ''Voyages extraor ...

(in "Around the World in Eighty Arms") *

as Felix, Osiris (in "The Mommy's Hand") *

as Max's Mother *

as Bea *

as Warmonger, Lava Lord, Venom (in "Snakes and Laddies"), Torlak (in "Day of the Cyclops"), Gorilla General (in "Rumble in the Jungle"), Escaped Scientist (in "Out in the Cold"), Danish Referee (in "The Maxnificent Seven")

Additional voices

Charlie Adler Charles Michael Adler (born October 2, 1956) is an American voice actor and voice director. He is known for his roles as Buster Bunny on ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', the Bigheads on ''Rocko's Modern Life'', Ickis on ''Aaahh!!! Real Monsters'', Doc ...

as Ernie (in "The Brain Sucker's Cometh"), Football Coach (in "The Brain Sucker's Cometh"), Calimarus (in "Less Than 20,000 Squid Heads Under the Sea") *

as Arachnoid (in "Along Came Arachnoid", "The Mommy's Hand"), Nadja (in "Good Golly Ms. Kali") * Michael Bell as Hydra's Good Side (in "I, Warmonger") *

Hamilton Camp Hamilton Camp (born Robin S. Camp; 30 October 1934 – 2 October 2005) was a British-born actor and singer, who relocated to the United States with his family when he was a young child. He is known for his work as a folk singer during the 1960s ...

as Additional voices (in "Fly By Night") * Christopher Carter as Gage (in "Zygote Rhythm") *

Glen Chin Glen Chin (January 27, 1948 – August 16, 2018) was an American actor of Chinese descent who starred in film and television. Background Chin was born in Stockton, California on January 27, 1948. He was the eldest of eight children. His father o ...

as Lao Chu/Ki Wan (in "Year of the Rat") * Selette Cole as Additional voices (in "Zygote Rhythm") *

Jim Cummings James Jonah Cummings (born November 3, 1952) is an American voice actor. Beginning his career in the 1980s, he has appeared in over 400 titles. Cummings has frequently worked with the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros., serving as the offic ...

as Ravendark (in "Let Sleeping Dragons Lie"), Doom Dragon (in "Let Sleeping Dragons Lie"), Ape King (in "Rumble in the Jungle"), J. "Ollie" Oleander Pettybone (in "Less Than 20,000 Squid Heads Under the Sea"),

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ) is an Old English poetry, Old English poem, an Epic poetry, epic in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 Alliterative verse, alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and List of translat ...

(in "The Maxnificent Seven"), Conqueror (in "Dawn of the Conqueror") *

Miriam Flynn Miriam Flynn is an American Voice acting, voice and character actor, character actress. She is best known as Cousin Catherine in the ''National Lampoon's Vacation (film series), National Lampoon's Vacation'' films and Grandma Longneck in ''The ...

as Professor MacDougal (in "Werewolves of Dunneglen") *

Brad Garrett Brad H. Gerstenfeld (born April 14, 1960), known professionally as Brad Garrett, is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Garrett was initially successful as a stand-up comedian in the early 1980s. Taking advantage of that success in the la ...

as Spike (in "Norman's Conquest"), Gatekeeper (in "Souls of Talon") *

Linda Gary Linda Gary (born Linda Gary Dewoskin, November 4, 1944 – October 5, 1995) was an American actress. Gary was best known for her work in animated series and films, such as providing voices of several female characters in ''He-Man and the Master ...

Kali Kali (; , ), also called Kalika, is a major goddess in Hinduism, primarily associated with time, death and destruction. Kali is also connected with transcendental knowledge and is the first of the ten Mahavidyas, a group of goddesses who p ...

(in "Good Golly Ms. Kali") *

Ellen Gerstell Ellen Gerstell (born October 16, 1954) is an American voice actress. She is most known for providing the voice of Rapture in '' Jem'' and Mihoshi Kuramitsu in the ''Tenchi Muyo!'' franchise. She is the wife of the late Emmy Award-winning writer ...

as Sarah (in "The Missed Link"), Flight Attendant (in "I, Warmonger"), Lithuanian Circus Performer (in "I, Warmonger") *

as Marlin Curt/Cyberskull (in "Cyberskull Virus", "Cyberskull II: The Next Level") *

Dorian Harewood Dorian Harewood (born August 6, 1950) is an American actor, best known for playing Jesse Owens in '' The Jesse Owens Story'' (1984), Det. Paul Strobber on '' Strike Force'' (1981–1982), and Rev. Morgan Hamilton in '' 7th Heaven'' (1996–2003 ...

as Osirus (in "The Mommy's Hand"), Nahmo (in "Sirius Trouble") *

Michael Horse Michael Horse (Michael James Heinrich, born 1949) is an American film and television actor. He is also a painter and jeweler. He is best known for playing Deputy Tommy 'Hawk' Hill on ''Twin Peaks''. Background and education Michael James Hei ...

as Yana-Ya-In (in "The Maxnificent Seven") *

Charles Kimbrough Charles Mayberry Kimbrough (May 23, 1936 – January 11, 2023) was an American actor. He was best known for his role as the straight-faced anchorman Jim Dial on ''Murphy Brown''. In 1990, his performance in the role earned him a nomination for ...

as Dr. Robert Scorpio (in "Scorpio Rising") *

Clyde Kusatsu Clyde Kusatsu (born September 13, 1948) is an American actor. A prolific character actor, he has appeared in over 300 film and television productions since his debut in 1970. He is the Secretary of the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, after previously se ...

Hanuman Hanuman (; , ), also known as Maruti, Bajrangabali, and Anjaneya, is a deity in Hinduism, revered as a divine ''vanara'', and a devoted companion of the deity Rama. Central to the ''Ramayana'', Hanuman is celebrated for his unwavering devotio ...

Katie Leigh Katie Leigh is an American voice actress. She has voice acted in both television, film and occasionally video game roles. Career Katie Leigh is known for her voice roles such as Sunni Gummi in '' Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears'', Zuzu in ...

as Jiffy (in "Snakes and Laddies") *

Victor Love Victor Love is an American actor, best known for the role of Bigger Thomas in the 1986 movie adaptation of the Richard Wright novel ''Native Son'', for which he was nominated the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. Filmography Film * ...

as Additional voice (in "Zygote's Music") *

as Professor Eggbert Zygote (in "Zygote's Rhythm", "Zygote Music") *

as Young Norman (in "Norman's Conquest") *

Kate Mulgrew Katherine Kiernan Maria Mulgrew (born April 29, 1955) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Captain Kathryn Janeway in '' Star Trek: Voyager'' and Red in ''Orange Is the New Black''. She first came to attention ...

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

(in "The Mommy's Hand") *

Ron Perlman Ronald N. Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire (film), Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose (film), The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in th ...

as Goar (in "Tar Wars") *

Henry Polic II Henry Albert Polic II (February 20, 1945 – August 11, 2013) was an American stage, screen, and voice actor, best known as Jerry Silver on '' Webster''. He earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from Florida State University and later served in ...

as Nemo (in "Around the World in Eighty Arms") *

Roger Rees Roger Rees (5 May 1944 – 10 July 2015) was a Welsh-American actor and director. He won an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for his performance as the lead in ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (play), The Life and Adventures of Nicho ...

as Additional voices (in "Around the World in Eighty Arms") *

Neil Ross Neil David Ross is a British–born actor. Noted for his Trans-Atlantic accent, he has provided voices in many American cartoons, most notably ''G.I. Joe'', '' Spider-Man: The Animated Series'', '' My Life as a Teenage Robot'', '' Voltron'', a ...

as Hydra's Bad Side (in "I, Warmonger"), Additional voices (in "Cyberskull Virus") *

Michael Fenton Stevens Michael Fenton Stevens (born 12 February 1958) is an English actor and comedian. He was a founder member of The Hee Bee Gee Bees and sang the lead on the ''Spitting Image'' 1986 number 1 hit " The Chicken Song". He also starred in '' KYTV'', its ...

Paula Tiso Paula Tiso is an American voice actress. She works in many areas of voiceover including Documentary narration, Affiliate TV, Radio Imaging, commercial voiceover as well as video games and live-action dubbing. She has narrated the true crime Ox ...

as Caitlin (in "Fuath and Begorra") * B.J. Ward as Security System (in "Cyberskull II: The Next Level"), Mrs. Fudder (in "Fly By Night"), Additional voices (in "Cyberskull Virus") *

as Talon (in "Souls of Talon") * Olivia Virgil White as Mujaji (in "The Maxnificent Seven") *

Paul Williams Paul Williams may refer to: Authors * Paul Williams (Crawdaddy) (1948–2013), American music and science fiction journalist; founder of ''Crawdaddy'' and the Philip K. Dick Society * Paul Williams (Irish journalist) (born 1964), Irish journalis ...

as Mad Scientist *

JoBeth Williams Margaret JoBeth Williams (born December 6, 1948) is an American actress. She rose to prominence appearing in such films as '' Kramer vs. Kramer'' (1979), '' Stir Crazy'' (1980), ''Poltergeist'' (1982), '' The Big Chill'' (1983), '' The Day After' ...

as Countess Moska (in "Fly By Night")

Crew

* Gordon Hunt – Voice Director *

Phil Roman Philip Roman (born December 21, 1930) is an American animator and the director of the ''Peanuts'' and ''Garfield'' animated specials. He is the founder of the animation studios Film Roman and Phil Roman Entertainment. Early life Philip Roman w ...

– Executive Producer * Mark Zaslove – Story Editor (season 1) *

Gordon Bressack Gordon Joseph Bressack (May 28, 1951 – August 30, 2019) was an American television writer who won Emmy Awards for ''Pinky and the Brain'' and ''Animaniacs''. He was the father of filmmaker James Cullen Bressack. Television credits ''Series hea ...

– Story Editor (season 2)

Home release

Select episodes of the show were released on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

NTSC NTSC (from National Television System Committee) is the first American standard for analog television, published and adopted in 1941. In 1961, it was assigned the designation System M. It is also known as EIA standard 170. In 1953, a second ...

and

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

formats.

Merchandise

The merchandising was far more popular than the show itself. Mighty Max toys were sold as play-sets of varying sizes with very small (usually non-articulated)

figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with cla ...

s inside. Each play-set contained a Mighty Max figure as well as one or more villains and sometimes Virgil, Norman, or both. There were a small series of larger, more expensive play-sets with various mechanical and electronic features such as opening jaws (on an island play-set shaped as a

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

's head) and lights. Almost all episodes of the TV series were based at least loosely on one of the Mighty Max play-sets. In 1994, due to the popularity of the play-sets at the time, the

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

Happy Meal A Happy Meal is a kids' meal usually sold at the American fast food Chain store#Restaurant chain, restaurant chain McDonald's since June 1979. A small toy or book is included with the food, both of which are usually contained in a red cardboard b ...

offered a toy play-set featuring Mighty Max. In 1994, a video game, ''

The Adventures of Mighty Max ''The Adventures of Mighty Max'' is a side-scrolling action-adventure video game developed by British studio WJS Design and published by Ocean Software for the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994. The game is based on the ...

'', was released for the

SNES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania an ...

and

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Sys ...

(which were packaged with a VHS copy of ''Day of the Cyclops'' and ''Let Sleeping Dragons Lie'', respectively). A handheld game was also released by

Tiger Electronics Tiger Electronics Ltd. (also known as Tiger and Tiger Toys) is an American toy manufacturer best known for its handheld electronic games, the Furby, the Talkboy, Giga Pets, the 2-XL robot, and audio games such as '' Brain Warp'' and the ...

and Systema. The show generated other merchandise such as a

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

(10 issues), a sticker album, at least one puzzle, and

board game A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...

s. In some countries, replicas of Max's cap were sold, although not all are officially licensed merchandise.

References

External links